2007 Acura RDX Review

PROS
Sports-car-like handling, Impressive acceleration, Cargo utility

CONSOverly firm ride, Techno overload

A wolf in sheep's clothingLaunched in 1986, Acura is the luxury arm of Japanese automaker Honda. Throughout the years Acura and Honda vehicles have shared chassis and engines. Today, Acura has carved out a niche in the luxury-car marketplace by offering competitively priced, front- and all-wheel drive vehicles that feature the latest techno goodies and have a sporty flair.

RDX shares components and chassis with the Honda CR-V and is Acura's first compact SUV. It seats five and competes with vehicles like the BMW X3, Land Rover LR2, and Mercury Mariner at the top end of the class. RDX has a wheelbase of 104.3 inches, which is 4 inches shorter than Acura's 7-passenger MDX.

Two trim levels are offered: Base and Base with Technology Package. No factory-installed options are available. Both models are powered by a turbocharged 2.3-liter 4-cylinder engine that makes 240 horsepower and 260 pounds-feet of torque. Sole transmission is a 5-speed automatic with standard steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters for manual operation.

Standard safety equipment includes front-seat side airbags, curtain airbags with rollover protection, antilock brakes, and stability control. Other notable standard features include dual-zone automatic climate control, tilt/telescope steering wheel, leather upholstery, heated front seats, and satellite radio. Technology Package models add DVD-based navigation system with voice recognition and traffic information, rear-view camera, DVD-capable audio system, and Bluetooth cell phone link.

The base model has a retail price of $32,995, and the Base with Technology Package lists for $36,495. Destination charge for both models is $615.

Get up and Go
While the similar Honda CR-V makes due with a normally-aspirated 166-horsepower 4-cylinder, RDX gets a turbocharged version that makes 240 horsepower.

What a difference 74 horsepower makes. While CR-V plods along with simply adequate acceleration, RDX jumps away with the authority of a sports coupe. From a standstill RDX will race to 60 mph in less than 7 seconds and boasts excellent passing power. The turbocharger also does a good job of quieting excess exhaust noise in hard acceleration.

Around town, drivers will note a slight delay in power delivery. This is common in turbocharged engines and is called turbo lag. To increase power output, turbochargers add pressurized air to the engine when called upon. Unfortunately, they take a half second or so to build boost, which results in a slight delay in power delivery. RDX's turbocharger is designed to build boost quickly, and its design works well to reduce turbo lag in all but low-speed driving.

The RDX is EPA rated at 19 mpg city and 23 mpg highway. This compares to 19/26 for the BMW X3 and 19/23 for the Mercury Mariner. Acura recommends premium-grade fuel for the RDX.

On the RoadAcura tuned the RDX to be one of the best-handling compact SUVs on the market. As a result, the ride is rather firm. It's not buckboard hard, but firmer than most SUV owners will expect and on par with most sport sedans and coupes.

The suspension seems to handle large bumps more adeptly than smaller road imperfections. On coarse or wavy roads RDX pitches around abruptly, yet on badly broken roads the suspension does an acceptable job of maintaining a composed ride.

On the upside, RDX is clearly one of the best-handling SUVs on the market. Period. There's little body lean in turns and the tires have excellent grip. Steering is heavy but natural and very accurate. Brakes are strong and sure with an easy-to-modulate pedal.

Interior noise levels aren't as low as some competitors'. There's little wind rush and the engine is quiet. However, on coarse surfaces the sport-biased tires grow noisy.

Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive works as advertised and is quite amazing. Even though RDX is well balanced, it's not too difficult to put too much weight on the front or rear tires in a turn, resulting in understeer or oversteer. If a driver is confident enough to stay on the gas, the SH-AWD system will re-route power to the end of the vehicle that has more traction--even before the vehicle begins to slip--to help pivot RDX around turns.

Behind the WheelRDX's interior has an airy, modern feeling with lots of metallic-finish surfaces and plenty of buttons. Assembly and materials are a cut above what you'd expect to find in your typical compact SUV and well within reason for the $30,000-plus price tag.

Gauges are easy to read and most-used controls fall close to hand. Perhaps Acura takes the tech approach too far by offering more than 70 buttons and knobs within the driver's reach--many of which have multiple functions and require a distracting look away from the road to operate.

One control that is particularly confusing is the multi-function knob/joystick/button that sticks out of the middle of the dashboard. This device controls the navigation system and some of the audio functions. Users must first select a button to enter the desired mode, and then toggle through complex menus to obtain the desired settings. The multi-function stalk is complicated and does little to reduce dashboard clutter. Adding to the confusion is the fact that the stalk neatly bisects the climate controls, making them more difficult to operate.

Step-in height is quite natural and not all that much higher than a typical sedan. There's plenty of head and leg room up front for large adults. Front seats are firm and supportive. Standard height-adjustable driver seat and tilt/telescope steering column make it easy for drivers of all sizes to get comfortable. Forward visibility is good, but darkly tinted rear windows make it difficult to see behind. Large outside mirrors and the Technology Package's backup camera help ease rear view somewhat.

Cargo space is equal to, if not better than, most competitors, and the split-folding rear seats lie nearly flat without removing the headrests. Interior storage is highlighted by a very large center bin and extra-wide front-door map pockets. Up front there's subtle blue lighting, but the dim dome light and lack of a cargo-area light make nighttime loading and unloading difficult.

Bottom LineRDX is a sports car in SUV clothing. It holds the road with tenacity, is fun to drive, and is flat-out fast when pressed. It's also a tip of the hat to the computer generation will all of its gadgets and techno goodies.

The price might be a bit of a stretch for typical compact SUV buyers, but that's not Acura's intended market. The luxury automaker is looking to capture upscale buyers who are tired of typical SUV "bigness" but still want most of the utility in a fun-to-drive package. In that role RXD is a sure-fire winner.